Did IAF's Republic Day Video Hint At Kirana Hills Strike?

Did the Indian Air Force strike Pakistan's nuclear site Kirana Hills during Operation Sindoor? The question never fully went away. Now, it is back. On Republic Day, the IAF released a video showing Indian fighter

jets that took part in Operation Sindoor. Among the visuals was footage showing Pakistan’s Sargodha air base — located close to the Kirana Hills region — being hit.The video featured Rafale, Sukhoi, Jaguar and Tejas aircraft, and carried the words: “The enforcers of peace.”

Was Kirana Hills Struck?

Kirana Hills is widely believed to house parts of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons infrastructure. During Operation Sindoor last year, speculation had swirled around whether India had struck the site. The Air Force had denied it then. It is denying it now.During a press briefing amid the operation last year, Air Marshal A K Bharti, then Director General of Air Operations, was categorical. India had not struck Kirana Hills. When asked again about the Republic Day video, the IAF stuck to that position. “We still stand by the official version,” an IAF official said without explaining further.

The video, however, has reopened the debate. It shows multiple Pakistani military targets being hit. These include Nur Khan air base and other strategic assets.A recent Swiss report said Indian strikes during Operation Sindoor forced Pakistan into appealing for peace, adding to the perception of the operation’s scale and impact.

Satellite Imagery Raised Fresh Doubts

The IAF video montage was set to the powerful chant of Mahisasura Mardini. It showed the IAF’s “Sindoor formation” of fighter jets in flight, saying, “I (fighter jet) stand as the unbreakable guarantor of peace. Should malevolent eyes dare and attempt to break this tranquillity, I rise as the fierce enforcer of peace. Infallible, Impervious, Precise.”Last year, when questions were first raised about Kirana Hills, Air Marshal Bharti responded with a smile.“We have not hit Kirana Hills, whatever is there. I did not brief in my briefing yesterday.”Yet the doubts have persisted. In June last year, satellite imagery from Google Earth appeared to show fresh damage near the Kirana Hills complex. The images were analysed by geo-intelligence researcher Damien Symon, who shared them publicly on X.The assessment triggered fresh speculation. Was it a missile strike? Or something else? There was no official confirmation.India has neither confirmed nor walked back its denial.

What Was Operation Sindoor?

Operation Sindoor was India’s large-scale air operation against terror infrastructure and Pakistani military bases last year, in May 2025.Indian aircraft struck multiple targets across the Line of Control (LoC) and deep inside Pakistani territory.